The "Task and Finish
Group" has been set up by the Communities Overview and Scrutiny
Committee at South Lakeland District Council in order to examine
off-street car parking within the District. The Council receives around
£2 million in car park income, which forms a significant part of its
budget and influences the level of Council Tax set each year. Off-street
car parking can reduce congestion on the Districtís streets, and allows
a provision for both residents and visitors to the area.

The article below has
been brought to you courtesy of the Federation for Small Businesses
"Lancashire & Cumbria Voice of Business", May/June 2008 edition.

The Windermere and
Bowness Chamber of Trade are indebted to them for use of this article,
however the Windermere and Bowness Chamber of Trade can not be held responsible for the accuracy of
this article.

Local authorities should
no longer use parking enforcement as a revenue-raising
tool nor set targets for the number of tickets issued,
under new regulations and statutory guidance brought
into force from 31st March 2008.

Designed to make parking enforcement
fairer and more motorist-friendly, the new framework encourages councils
to allow officers more discretion over when a ticket is issued,
including issuing verbal warnings for minor offences. Local
authorities are also strongly advised to use wheel-clamping only
against those who persistently evade their penalty charges.

Councils outside London can issue lower
penalties for less serious offences and all authorities have to include
details of appeals procedures on their tickets. Independent
parking adjudicators have also been given more power, including the
right to ask authorities to reconsider penalty charges when there are
mitigating circumstances.

The framework has also made it clear that
local authorities should:-

Publish and promote their enforcement
policies and penalty charge levels openly and clearly.

Regularly appraise their parking
policies in consultation with drivers and businesses.

Ensure parking attendants have clear
evidence that a vehicle was parked in contravention before issuing a
ticket.

Make sure staff have the proper
skills, training and resources to provide a fair, consistent and
professional service.

Only use CCTV to enforce parking rules
where it is impractical or dangerous for an attendant to operate.

The Civil Enforcement of Parking
Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007/3483 are available at;